Corn chip



United States Patent 3,368,902 CORN CHIP Isadore A. Berg, 1613 AsmannAve., Cincinnati, Ohio 45229 No Drawing. Continuation-impart ofapplication Ser. N 0. 352,980, Mar. 18, 1964. This application Mar. 22,1967, Ser. No. 625,004

"12 Claims. (Cl. 99-83) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A process of making acorn chip including the steps of cooking corn and grinding it to form amasa, recooking the masa with additional water to form a gelatinizedmass, forming small particles of the mass, drying the particles andfrying them in cooking oil.

Related applications This is a continuation-in-part of applicationSerial No. 352,980 filed Mar. 18, 1964 now abandoned.

This invention relates to a corn chip and a method of making it, andmore particularly the invention is directed to the making of a corn chiphaving improved structural or physical characteristics and flavor.

Corn chips have been known and commercially produced for many years andhave certain pronounced characteristics by which they are distinguished.In general, it can be said that the known corn chips are hard, dense andgreasy. The chips do not have a particularly distinctive corn flavorpronounced and in fact the taste of the corn is somewhat difiicult toperceive. The hardness and density of the prior art product are in asense interrelated. While the product is somewhat porous or has acellular structure, the cell structure has thick walls. The surface ofthe chips is rather smooth and dense, all of which results in adistinctive, hard, brittle characteristic when the chip is bitten. Theresultant chip of the prior art is also greasy, or high in fat contentwhich actually means that its caloric value is high. The chip is about36% oil by weight. The high fat content not only is undesirable from thestandpoint of those who have difficulty controlling their weight, butthe chips quickly satisfy the appetite of any person eating them.

The objective of the invention has been to provide a corn chip which isdramatically improved in those principal characteristics referred toabove. Whereas the prior art corn chips are characterized by being hard,dense and greasy, the chip of the present invention is light, crispy,tender, and of a markedly lower grease content. The light crispy qualityof the chip can be more specifically defined as being a porous or puffedcellular structure in which the individual cells are markedly largerwith thinner walls than those of the prior chips. The product is,therefore, quite crisp and crunchy and has two other quite remarkablecharacteristics. It has been found that the chip can be exposed to theatmosphere for a considerable period of time as, for example, two weeksor so without appreciably altering its crispness and corn taste.Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, the chip of the presentinvention imparts a more pronounced corn flavor immediately to the tastebuds when it is eaten.

The lightness of the chip can be defined and compared to that of theprior art by reference to its bulking. The bulking is determined by theweight of the chips which can be packed into a container of apreselected volume. Considering, for example, chips which areapproximately 1% inches by 1% inches and extruded through a ;-inch wideorifice, it was possible to pack 4.45 ounces of the prior art chips intoa 22 liquid ounce jar. It was possible only to pack 1.76 ounces of thechips of the invention in the same jar. In other Words, the chip of thepresent invention bulks at about 2 /2 times the prior art chips. Statedanother way, the density of the prior art chip is 0.2 ounce per liquidounce of volume and the chip of the present invention has a bulk densityof about 0.08 ounce per liquid ounce of volume.

It is believed that the increased surface area which is exposed to thetaste buds by the chip of the present invention results in anintensification of the flavor of the chip. When bitten, the open textureof the chip offers much less resistance to the bite and the particlesare much more completely disintegrated, thereby creating a greaterexposure of the chip parts to the area 'of the taste buds which resultsin a perceptibly increased corn flavor.

While there are undoubtedly variations in the processes of the priorart, in general they follow approximately the steps set forth below:

(a) Whole kernel corn is steeped and boiled for about 60 minutes in asolution of water and calciumed hydroxide.

(b) Water is added to make up for that evaporated by the boiling and tocover the corn, and the boiled corn is set aside for one day.

(c) The water is drained and the corn is washed.

(d) The corn is ground to a masa which is an agglomerated mass.

(e) The masa is extruded into strips which are cut into short pieces anddropped into a vat of corn oil at approximately 390 F. and fried foraround 1 /2 minutes.

The resultant chip is brownish, dense, and contains about 36% by weightof oil. The bulk density is around 0.2 per liquid ounce of volume.

The process of the present invention is distinguishable from that of theprior art in a number of respects, which will be disclosed in moredetail below. However, there are certain principal differences whichshould be pointed out distinctly. Of these, the most important is thestep of adding water and cooking the masa. In the prior art practices,the cooked corn is ground to form a masa. The masa is then extruded andfried. In the present invention, however, after grinding the corn toform the masa, water is added to it and it is boiled for an additionallength of time in order to form a gelatinized mass. This step more thanany of the others imparts to the product a quality which permits it,upon frying, to expand and develop its crispy, bubbly, cellularstructure.

The product can be improved additionally by adding corn starch and saltto the masa as it is being cooked. The product can be further improvedby adding a small amount of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) to thegelatinized mass. The product is still further improved over those ofthe prior art by permitting the product to dry to about 10% moisturebefore it is introduced into the cooking oil. I

The objective of the introduction of these additional steps andconstituents into the process is to provide a gelatinized dried strip orpellet which will puff or expand during the oil frying step to a fargreater degree than is possible in the prior art process. The manner inwhich the additional steps and constituents cooperate to produce thisexpansion phenomenon will be explained in greater detail below.

More specifically and completely, the process of the present inventionis as follows:

The process will be described in relation to 100 pounds of total solidsemployed exclusive of the sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, and thesequantities by weight will be easily convertible to percentages so thatthe process can be applied to greater or lesser quantities.

kettle and covered with water. One and one-fourth pounds calciumhydroxide is added and stirred until uniformly dispersed. This mass isheated and brought to boiling and maintained at boiling point forapproximately 30 minutes.

The amount of water selected is that which sufficiently covers the corn.As water is lost during the boiling, or as the corn kernels swell andabsorb water, additional water should be added to keep the corn covered.

The 1% pounds of calcium hydroxide is the minimum required to bring outthe flavor of the corn in the final product. I have found that if thecalcium hydroxide is reduced to approximately 1% or one pound, the cornflavor of the resultant product is not as distinct as when the perferredamount of calcium hydroxide is added. I have found that the amount ofcalcium hydroxide can be increased to 1 /2% and the corn flavor will besimilar to that wherein l /4% is used. With variations in the corn, someslight increases above 1 /4 may be necessary to obtain the required cornflavor.

I prefer to boil the corn to the point whereby its water absorption is40 to 43% after cooling for one hour. From experience, I find that ittakes approximately 30 to 40 minutes boiling. If boiled for a longertime so that the corn absorbs a higher amount of Water than 43%, itappears to affect the starch so that in the final frying step the driedpellets do not expand as well as the product which has been cooked sothat after cooling the moisture absorption is 40% to 43%. The variationin boiling time is dependent on the character of the corn, in that onelot of corn may absorb moisture in cooking faster than another lot.

Step 2.The boiled corn has cold water added to it so that it is wellcovered by the cold Water. The corn is permitted to cool for one hour.During the cooling step some water will be absorbed by the corn.

Step 3.-The water is drained from the corn and the corn is washed.During the preliminary boiling and cool-. ing steps, referred to above,the water takes on a cloudy appearance and it is the function of thedraining and washing step to remove all extraneous substances andfurther to remove the last traces of free calcium hydroxide.

Step 4. The corn is ground to form a masa which is an agglomerated masswhose weight is now approximately 157 pounds. In other words, the cornhas taken on slightly more than 66% of its original weight in water. Themasa is placed in a steam jacketed kettle and is mixed by stirring withan additional 212 pounds of water, 5 pounds of corn starch and /z-poundof sodium chloride salt. The mixture is stirred and cooked for about 15minutes until the mixture has thickened into a heavy homogenous mass,indicating the substantially full gelatinization of the starch in thecorn and added corn starch.

I calculate the amount of water by multiplying the weight of masa by1.25 and by multiplying the weight of the added dry corn starch by 3.25.When the corn starch constitutes 5% of the solids, the added water willbe approximately 1.35 times the Weight of the masa. If substantiallyless water is used, the product will not be as fully gelatinized and ifa greater amount of water is used the product will be thin, difficult toextrude and will not produce an ultimate product having the desiredtexture characteristics described above.

The additives of unmodified corn starch, salt and CMC are necessarysince some changes have taken place in the starch molecules of thenatural corn by being subiected to the boiling process with the calciumhydroxide which has modified their associated bonding properties. Toform a dried pellet which will puff and expand to the proper degree asoutlined above, it is required that the bonding between the starchmolecules within the film or strip be very highly and stronglyassociated. The three additives of starch, salt, and CMC provide thenecessary highly and strongly associated bonding between the starchmolecules so that the dried pellets will puff and expand as required.

Although larger amounts of corn starch than 5% may be added, an increasein the corn starch results in a decrease in the natural corn fiavor ofthe ultimate product. Furthermore, the effect of the unmodified cornstarch is substantially increased by the additional of the CMC which hassuch a marked effect in increasing the thickness or viscosity of thegelatinized mass.

The salt added may be from /1 to 2% by weight of the solids. The saltadds to the flavor of the ultimate product and appears to have abeneficial effect of the gelatinizing and puffing upon frying of theproduct. I prefer /2% of salt since it aids in obtaining the desiredpuffing characteristics and fiavor.

The length of time of heating and stirring is relatively short and canbe determined by the appearance and viscosity of the mixture. Too shorta period will fail to produce the desired full gelatinization. Longercooking does not appear to increase the viscosity of the mixture and istherefore unnecessary.

The resultant homogeneous mass has a moisture content of about Step5.The heat is taken off the kettle and 2 pounds of sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) is stirred into the heavy mass which tends to thickenfurther.

There are two desired effects produced by the sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC). Additional thickening of the mass is produced.Additonally, the CMC is a grease blocker. That is to say, the productwhich includes the CMC will absorb less fat when it is introduced intothe frying corn oil. The added thickening imparts a greater expansion ofpufiiing characteristic during the frying and the reduction of thegrease or fat absorption combine to result in a product which is lighterand contains less grease or oil than a product which does not employCMC.

Step 6.-The gelatinized mass is extruded through die openings which are1 inches wide and ;-inch high and the extruded strips are deposited intorows on pallets. The strips are cross cut into about 2 inch length andthe pallets are placed on racks for drying. The pieces are dried ataround F. and in such a manner that they will dry slowly so that thestarch molecules have sufficient time to associate. When the pieces showsigns of shrinking and hardening, the temperature may be increased to F.and air of around 40% relative humidity gently circulated around thepieces. This drying is continued until the pieces are uniformly hardenedand moisture content is around 10%. The pieces are ready for promptfrying but, if desired, may then be placed in moisture proof containersand stored for extended periods and can be shipped to distant plants forfrying and packaging.

The moisture content should not be reduced much less than 10% water fora piece of a lower moisture content, upon frying, will not fully expandand be a hard, tough product.

Step 7.The pieces are dropped into corn oil at 380 to 390 F. and friedfor 30 seconds. During this brief frying time, the pieces puff to about5 times their normal size. The resultant product contains only 20 to 25%and usually around 23% by weight of oil and bulks at 0.08 ounce perliquid ounce of volume.

Example 1 Ninety-four and one-half pounds of a mixture of whole kernelcorn constituted by /3 yellow and /3 white kernels was placed in a steamjacketed kettle and covered with water. One and one-quarter pounds ofCa(OH) were stirred into the mixture. The mixture was boiled for 30 to35 minutes during which time water was added to keep the corn covered.Cold water was added to bring up the water level as before boiling andthe contents were cooled for one hour. The water was drained and thecorn was washed. The corn was ground to form a inch high and the stripswere cut into 2 inch lengths.

These strips were dried at 80 F. When the pieces showed signs ofshrinking and hardening, the temperature was increased to 90 F. and airwas gently circulated around the pieces. When the moisture content wasreduced to around the pieces were ready for frying. The pieces weredropped into corn oil at 390 F. and fried for 30 seconds.

The resultant product contained approximately 20 to 25% oil and had abulk density of about 0.08 ounce per liquid ounce of volume. Physicallythe product was characterized by being light and crisp and of apronounced cellular structure having a bubbled outer surface. Theproduct had an immediately perceptible corn taste.

Example 2 One hundred parts by weight of corn kernels and twothirds partby weight of calcium hydroxide were placed in a kettle and covered withwater. This mixture was boiled for 45 minutes during which time waterwas added to keep the corn covered. Cold water was added to bring up thewater level as before boiling and the contents were cooled for one hour.The corn was then drained of its water and washed with water. The cornwas then ground to form a masa. The masa was weighed and it wasdetermined that it had picked up 42.2% of water. The masa was mixed withsufiicient water to form a mixture of approximately 45% masa and 55%water which forms a suspension of the masa in the water. This mixturewas boiled for 20 minutes, whereby the masa was gelatinized into a thickmass.

The gelatinized mass was extruded into strips which were dried to about10 moisture. The strips were placed in cooking oil at a temperature of390 F. for about 30 seconds. During the frying, the chips expanded toabout four times their size and the resultant chip had a, bubbly orcellular surface, a crispy tenderness, and a tasty corn flavor. Theybulked at about 1% times that of corn chips which had been preparedwithout the boiling of the masa.

Example 3 A gelatinized masa was prepared as described in Example 2 anda mixture of 25 of dry gelatinized starch and 75% of water was added toto the gelatinized masa so that the corn of the masa was about 94 partsand the dry starch was about 6 parts of the mixture. This masa wasextruded into strips, dried, and fried as in Example 2.

The expansion of the strips upon frying was about 20% greater than thatof Example 2.

The mixture of pregelatinized starch with water when added to the cookedgelatinized masa created a problem in mixing since the gelatinizedstarch does not blend too easily with the gelatinized masa and thereforespecial mixing devices are necessary to make a uniform masa forextruding.

Example 4 A com chip was prepared following the steps of Example 2except that, before the second boiling step, regular corn starch wasadded to the masa to make a mixture of approximately 94 parts of cornand 6 parts dry starch by weight. When the corn starch was added,sufiicient water was added to form a suspension in which there isapproximately 75% water and 25 dry corn and starch by weight.

The resultant corn chip was similar to that of Example 3.

6 Example 5 The steps of Example 4 were performed with the added step ofadding about /2-part by weight of salt to the masa before it was boiled.The addition of the salt appeared to improve the expansion, crispness,and taste of the corn chip.

Example 6 The steps of Example 4 were performed with the addition ofstirring about 1.5 to 2 parts by weight of sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) into the boiling masa. The addition of the CMC increasedthe expansion of the corn chip by about 5%, the fat content of the cornchip decreased around 4%, and the crispy tenderness of the chip wasimproved.

Example 7 The steps of Example 4 were performed except that instead ofregular corn starch, corn meal equal to the amount of masa corn byweight was added to the masa. The resultant corn chip was verysatisfactory, yielding a bubbly cellular surface which had expanded toabout four times the size of the extruded strip.

Example 8 The steps of Example 7 were performed except that corn flourwas substituted for corn meal with substantially the same results.

I claim:

1. The process of forming corn chips from a masa. dough comprising thesteps of,

mixing the masa with water,

cooking the mixture until it forms a thick gelatinized mass tofacilitate pulling and expanding upon frying, forming said mixture intopieces and drying them until the pieces are uniformly hardened, and

deep frying the dried pieces.

2. The process according to claim 1 in which the pieces are dried toapproximately 10% moisture content prior to deep frying.

3. The process of forming corn chips from a masa dough comprising thesteps of,

mixing the masa with water and with regular corn starch in amountssufficient to facilitate pulling and expandin upon frying,

cooking the mixture until it forms a thick gelatinized mass tofacilitate pulling and expanding upon frying, forming said mixture intopieces and drying them, and deep frying the dried pieces.

4. The process of forming corn chips from a masa dough comprising thesteps of,

mixing the masa with water,

cooking the mixture until it forms a thick gelatinized mass tofacilitate pulling and expanding upon frying, mixing the gelatinizedmixture after cooking with gelatinized corn starch and water in amountssufficient to facilitate puffing and expanding upon frying, forming saidmixture into pieces and drying them, and deep frying the dried pieces.

5. The process of forming corn chips from a masa dough comprising thesteps of,

mixing the masa with water and with corn meal in amounts sufiicient tofacilitate pulling and expanding upon frying,

cooking the mixture until it forms a thick gelatinized mass tofacilitate pulling and expanding upon frying, forming said mixture intopieces and drying them, and deep frying the dried pieces.

6. The process according to claim 5 in which the percentage of solidsisapproximately 94.5% corn, 5% corn starch, and 0.5% salt by weight.

7. The process of forming corn chips from a masa dough comprising thesteps of,

mixing the masa with water and with corn starch and salt, the waterbeing approximately 1.25 times the 7 weight of the masa plus 3.25 timesthe weight of the corn starch,

cooking the mixture until it forms a thick gelatinized mass tofacilitate pufiing and expanding upon frying, forming said mixture intopieces and drying them, and deep frying the dried pieces. 8. The processof forming corn chips from a masa dough comprising the steps of, mixingthe mesa with water, cooking the mixture until it forms a thickgelatinized mass to facilitate puffing and expanding upon drying,

stirring sodium carboxymethyl cellulose in amounts sutficient tofacilitate pufiing and expanding the gelatinized mixture upon frying,

forming said gelatinized mass into pieces and drying them, and

deep trying the dried pieces.

9. The process according to claim 8 in which the sodium carboxymethylcellulose is approximately 2% of the total solids.

10. The process of making corn chips comprising the steps of,

boiling whole kernel of corn with calcium hydroxide for approximatelythirty minutes,

cooling the corn and water,

draining and washing the corn with water,

grinding the corn' into a masa,

mixing the masa with about 1.35 times its weight of water, corn starch,and salt wherein the percentages of solids are approximately as follows:94.5% corn, corn starch, and /2 salt,

cooking the mixture for about fifteen minutes,

adding approximately 2% sodium carboxymethyl cellulose to the mixture,

forming the mixture into small strips,

subjecting the strips to approximately 80 F. until the pieces show signsof shrinking and hardening,

subjecting the pieces to 90 F. and gently circulating air ofapproximately relative humidity until the strips have a moisture contentof approximately 10%, and

deep frying the strips.

11. The process of making corn chips comprising the steps of,

boiling whole kernels of corn with calcium hydroxide for approximatelythirty minutes,

cooling the corn and water,

draining and washing the corn with water,

grinding the corn into a masa,

mixing the masa with about 1.35 times its weight of Water, corn starch,and salt wherein the percentages of solids are approximately as follows:94.5% corn, 5% corn starch, and /2 salt,

cooking the mixture for about fifteen minutes,

adding approximately 2% sodium carboxymethyl cellulose to the mixture,

forming the mixture into small strips,

drying the strips to a moisture content of approximately 10%, and

deep frying the strips.

12. A corn chip constituted in parts by weight by 94 /2 parts corn, 5parts corn starch, Az-part sodium chloride, 2 parts carboxymethylcellulose,

said chip being cellular, having a bubbled outer surface,

and having a bulk density of around 0.08 ounce per liquid ounce ofvolume and an oil content of 20 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS2,916,378 12/1959 Kunce et al. 99-80 3,083,103 3/1963 Anderson et al99--80 3,278,311 10/1966 Brown et al. 99-80 RAYMOND N. JONES, PrimaryExaminer.

